(1) Field
The disclosed methods and systems relate generally to electrocardiographic imaging, and more particularly to methods and systems for noninvasive reconstruction of cardiac potentials, electrograms, and isochrones (activation patterns) in electrocardiographic imaging.
(2) Description of Relevant Art
Imaging and diagnosing cardiac electrical activity can be problematic because the electrical activity is time dependent and spatially distributed throughout the myocardium. Electrocardiographic techniques that include, for example, electrocardiograms (ECG) and vectorcardiography (VCG) can be limited in their ability to provide information and/or data on regional electrocardiac activity. These methods can also fail to localize bioelectric events in the heart.
Simultaneous recordings of potentials at tens or hundreds of locations on the torso, for example, can provide body surface potential maps (BSPMs) over the torso surface. Although the BSPMs can indicate regional cardiac electrical activity in a manner that may be different from conventional ECG techniques, these BSPM techniques generally provide a comparatively low resolution, smoothed projection of cardiac electrical activity that does not facilitate visual detection or identification of cardiac event locations (e.g., sites of initiation of cardiac arrhythmias) and details of regional activity (e.g., number and location of arrythmogenic foci in the heart).
In comparison, potential distributions measured on and over the epicardial surface of the heart can provide comparatively more accurate and higher resolution data that reflects electrical events within the myocardium. Accordingly, the study of cardiac excitation and arrhythmogenesis, for example, often rely upon the mapping of potentials directly from the epicardium.
With an increasing use of nonpharmacological anti-arrhythmic interventions (e.g., ablation), comparatively rapid and accurate localization of electrocardiac events can be beneficial. Electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) is a noninvasive imaging modality for cardiac electrophysiology (EP) and arrhythmias that can be used to reconstruct epicardial potentials and to provide electrograms and isochrones from, for example, BSPMs and/or other electrocardiographic body surface potentials.